Gorayeb Family: Helping Bates students engage the transformative power of their differences

Chris Gorayeb ’80, P’20 and Joan Gorayeb P’20 have chosen to support The Bates Campaign by establishing the Gorayeb Family Fund for Equity and Diversity.

Their endowment gift will fund innovative programming run by the Office of Equity and Diversity and the Office of Intercultural Education that, in the words of the college’s mission statement, empowers Bates students to engage the transformative power of their differences.

“My gift is an investment in helping Bates support students from underrepresented backgrounds and a continuation of work that I’ve been devoted to for the last 30 years,” says Chris Gorayeb, a New York City–based attorney specializing in representing members of the Latino community in workplace-injury and negligence cases. “Bates is deserving because from its founding it has provided opportunity to individuals who have been historically disenfranchised.”

“Chris and Joan’s generosity will help Bates develop and implement programming to meet the differentiated needs of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, students from underrepresented racial or ethnic backgrounds, students who are first in their families to attend college, and students who are LGBTQA+ identified,” says Crystal Williams, associate vice president for strategic initiatives who oversees the Office of Intercultural Education and the Office of Equity and Diversity. “I thank them for their leadership in helping Bates fulfill its distinctive history, promise, and ethos.”

A member of the Board of Trustees, Chris has also made a five-year campaign pledge to the Bates Fund — a gift given to strengthen the college’s financial sustainability.

“I give back to Bates because it has given me an excellent education, lifelong friends, and enriching connections through other family members who attended,” he says. “As years pass, I realize how much Bates is a part of me, and, by extension, how much I am a part of Bates.”